Intracellular iron availability modulates the requirement for Leishmania Iron Regulator 1 (LIR1) during macrophage infections.

Intracellular iron availability modulates the requirement for Leishmania Iron Regulator 1 (LIR1) during macrophage infections. Int J Parasitol. 2019 Mar 22;: Authors: Sarkar A, Andrews NW, Laranjeira-Silva MF Abstract The Leishmania plasma membrane transporter Leishmania Iron Regulator 1 (LIR1) facilitates iron export and is required for parasite virulence. By modulating macrophage iron content, we investigated the host site where LIR1 regulates Leishmania amazonensis infectivity. In bone marrow-derived macrophages, LIR1 null mutants demonstrated a paradoxical increase in virulence during infections in heme-depleted media, while wild-type growth was inhibited under the same conditions. Loading the endocytic pathway of macrophages with cationized ferritin prior to infection reversed the effect of heme depletion on both strains. Thus, LIR1 contributes to Leishmania virulence by protecting the parasites from toxicity resulting from iron accumulation inside parasitophorous vacuoles. PMID: 30910463 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: International Journal for Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: Int J Parasitol Source Type: research